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In the past few weeks, the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) has worked to consolidate power in the country by quashing his rivals through a corruption campaign. In line with other efforts to consolidate and project power, Saudi Arabia appeared to have pushed its patron Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to step down from his seat in order to put pressure on Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, which is part of Lebanon’s coalition government. According to several reports, the PM is currently under house arrest in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

This move is part of Saudi Arabia’s campaign to try and combat Iran’s regional role, from launching an air campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen two years ago to its recent moves to try to restore and normalize diplomatic relations with Iraq. Saudi Arabia’s desire to combat Iranian influence is in synchronization with the Trump administration’s new hard line policy on Iran, however in seeking to counter Iran and Hezbollah, further economic or military escalation by Saudi Arabia might destroy Lebanon and, in turn, actually work to empower Iran.

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